Typically, the known electronic equipment with a touch panel and the like includes an apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a “vibration generation apparatus”) configured to vibrate a panel-shaped vibration target component such as a touch panel. This allows a user to perceive the sense of operation and information through vibration other than the sense of vision and hearing.
As a vibration generation apparatus of electronic equipment of this type, for example, a vibration generation apparatus, which is configured such that a vibration device is disposed on a back portion of the panel-shaped vibration target component and that the vibration target component vibrates in a thickness direction or a deflection direction by vibration of the vibration device, has been known (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1).
Other type of vibration generation apparatus has been developed, which is, as illustrated in FIG. 9, configured such that a frame-shaped holder 101 is disposed outside a panel-shaped vibration target component 100, that actuators 102 configured to move the panel-shaped vibration target component 100 in parallel with the plane thereof are provided between the holder 101 and a side surface of the vibration target component 100, and that vibration is generated by operation of the actuators 102 (see, e.g., Patent Literature 2).
In the vibration generation apparatus of this type, spring members 103 such as coil springs are, on the side opposite to the actuators 102, interposed between the vibration target component 100 and the holder 101. The process of pushing out the vibration target component 100 toward one direction by the actuators 102 and returning the vibration target component 100 to an original point by the biasing force of the spring members 103 in a pushing-back direction is repeated to vibrate the vibration target component 100.